#7 Famous Friends & Family #2

365 Blog Challenge, Post #7

Imagine....it's Christmas night.  Your bellies are full.  Your wallets are empty.  Many of your wishes for new things have been granted.  You're happy, maybe spending the evening with family, maybe with other loved ones....or...you're Evan!

Our friend Evan (Scott's coworker), who happens to be good friends with many an older bitty (in fact we tease him that he is getting lucky with the older ladies) spent this past Christmas night at the duplex of a popular NY couple who annually host famous opera singers (think the Met) and their "entourages"  for a Christmas dinner.  Not only did Evan attend this swanky event in which the singers entertain each other, he was also pictured in the New York Times article that was written up about it (in the Fashion & Style section.)!  Here he is:

Photo as seen in New York Times, taken by Deidre Schoo.  Evan is the young gentleman to the far left, cell phone in hand.  Try and guess what he's thinking here....

Photo by Deidre Schoo for the New York Times.  Here Evan is with the hostess.  We told you the ladies love him.

Way to go Evan.  You made the New York Times AND my blog! What a lucky guy. ;)

# 6 There are days....

365 Blog Challenge, Post #6

Having lived in NY for almost 5 years, I've had many people tell me how envious they are that I live in Manhattan, how exciting it must be, never a dull moment.  To be honest, Manhattan is great.  There is an energy and a vibe here that I know I would miss should we ever choose to leave.  However, there are days....

There are days, like today, when being surrounded by thousands of people at any given minute and not having your own space wears on you.  Maybe you're having a bad day, maybe you've just gotten bad news or maybe a bad mood just swooped down out of nowhere and enveloped you.  All you want is to be alone or with your loved one at home.  But it's three in the afternoon.  Taking a cab home from the east side to Washington Heights would be a slow, financial nightmare. You could take the M86 across down and catch the 1 train, but then you'd have to walk the seven minutes home and how your body already hurts from hours and days of being on your feet.  Maybe, you say to yourself, you'll catch the 4 train up to Yankee Stadium and catch the Bx6 bus.  That brings you right outside your apartment building.  You'll even have time to read your book.  You get on the 4 and thankfully you get a seat only to realize you don't understand why the author of this book has dragged this dead girl's history into the story when the book would suffice as a memoir, and it's downright depressing either way.  Then, after boarding the Bx6, you're sitting next to an irritatingly loud couple, trying to read the book you don't like in the first place and feeling your sorrow start to swell in your gut.  You think back to the days of your car, however unimpressive it was, the solace of an empty interior.  The radio playing terrible music that at least you could belt to in privacy, and wallow in your mood.  You miss being able to walk outside without stepping on the heels of hundreds of slow walkers who walk four-across on the sidewalk (which should be illegal anyways).  And you miss going home to a place, a building, a locale, where you alone live with your loved ones.  Instead you're surrounded by more strangers in more apartments, stacked on top of on another, where you hear your neighbors pounding above you despite the fact that they started their construction project over a year ago.  You look across the river at New Jersey and you think life is probably easier over there, easier than being confined to this island with millions of people from all walks of life, some who have no consideration for other people's space and others who have so much consideration (or self-involvement) that they hide in a shell and are unfriendly and closed off and couldn't give you a smile to save their over-priced designer shoes.  

Yes.  There are days like this.  Not many.  But they're there.  They are to be expected.  And then your husband comes in and kisses you on the cheek and you remember that things are OK.  And things will look brighter tomorrow, be more exhilarating, more fresh.  And you sit down and enjoy your solace, as you know it will be interrupted the moment you walk out your apartment door.

#5 Banned for Life

365 Blog Challenge: Post #5

Scott had been raving about this book, "Banned for Life" by DR Haney for months when I finally picked it up.  To be honest, I had gotten a brief email from Mr. Haney (who Scott corresponds with online) after I posted in a caption contest related to his new book ("Subversia") on thenervousbreakdown.com.  I decided after Haney's friendly email that I would see what this book was all about. 

            The book is set in the punk rock scene in the 80s and 90s and, at first, I was put off.  It's not that the writing wasn't good.  It was just different.  It's that I wasn’t that interested in punk rock (after hoping to date a punk rocker in high school only to be turned down).  Also, instead of the flowing sea of eloquent words that I have gotten used to reading by authors such as Daphne Du Murier and Anita Shreve , Haney's book was almost conversational, as if the writer were speaking to you instead of putting the words on paper.  (In fact, it's very beat-like).  His writing was more like (and this is not an insult, just work with me) a herky, jerky ride in a broken down car (perhaps one with a failing transmission?).  Once you start to see something nice while looking out the window, you're jerked back into the reality that this is not the smooth ride you were hoping for.  However, as the book progressed, as I began to care for Jason, the main character who is a beautifully honest, semi-successful, mostly failing screenwriter, I started to enjoy this ride.

            The book, which reads as a memoir (though it's fiction...though I question the fiction of some parts due to Haney’s bio) is about Jason's passionate yet unhealthy relationship with Irina, a Serbian woman who is married to another man.  Irina plays a game of tug-o-war with Jason's heart and with his life.  First she's faithful to her husband, despite her flirtatious ways (with many more men than just Jason), then she's in love with Jason, then she's going to leave her husband for Jason, then it's not the right time.  It goes on like this for quite a bit, all the while Jason is also trying to kindle a relationship with Jim Cassidy, a former punk star who was Jason's role model in his youth.  Jim has since become a chain smoking, beer bellied, drunk agoraphobic who lives with his mother.  Very sexy. And have I mentioned Peewee?  Jason’s best friend and band mate who died in a sober driving accident before Jason became a screenwriter? He’s in there too.

            What I came to realize by the end was that not only was Haney following suit with the punk rock theme by not conforming to the pretty, traditional writing styles of today's NYT best sellers, but also, he wasn't covering up reality with beautiful words. He was being gritty and truthful and refreshing, just as Jason’s character is. This is not to say his writing is bad.  His writing is great!  But it is different, and it took this book to put a connection together: that sometimes we need to step out of our comfort zones (in reading and otherwise) to experience something worthwhile.

            A final thought that I had helped me decide that Haney's book is not just a book, but also a work of art.  Perhaps it is more soothing to be drawn along by a string of pretty words and elaborate plot lines, but the waves of that ocean of eloquence sure don’t get you anywhere fast.  That puttering car took me somewhere!  It got me to a place of understanding and inspiration and beauty that I could appreciate for the honest ride that it was.  

#4 Famous Friends and Family #1

365 Blog Challenge: Post #4

I was recently fortunate enough to spend a few hours in NY with my cousin, Katelyn, one of my mom's sister's daughters. Katelyn is the eldest of 3 beauties! She was in NY because she is a twirler for Kansas State University and I had to give her a shout out on my blog because she and her fellow twirler were mentioned at ESPN.com after their performance in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium! Here's the full article: The Sound of Music at the Pinstripe Bowl, and the best line being- 

"But the most impressive performers were the twirlers -- two for Kansas State, one for Syracuse -- who performed an array of dazzling tricks with multiple batons while the bands and played and the cheerleaders cheered. "

Here are some pics of my famous cuz:

 This pic with Mr. Wildcat was taken at a game earlier in the season.

I met Katelyn after working overnight, hence the ugly green scrub pants. (Scott has no excuse for his navy and black ensemble.)

Katelyn (left) with her twirling partner, Jessica, on the subway in NYC.



Props to Katelyn and her fellow twirlers for being amazing enough to be mentioned on ESPN.com. Hope to see you in action some day girl!

#3 We're really going...

365 Blog Challenge: Post #3

...on a Western Carribbean/Panama cruise! Scott and I finalized our plans today to hit the high seas in March for a 10-day cruise. I've never left the continent before so I'm quite excited. Though it's not the European cruise we were hoping to take (too pricey!), I know it's going to be wonderful. Here a map of our future travels:

Expect many a story of sea sickness and cruise ship fun in March!

#2 Further Notes on the 50-Book Challenge

365 Blog Challenge: Post #2

Whats the point of reading 50 books without having some favorites (and least favorites?) Here are some more notes on the challenge:

# of pages read: 20732 pages

Longest book read: Under the Dome, 1072 pages

Shortest book read: Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores- 115 pages

Avg # of pages per book: 384

Avg # of pages read per week: 399

Avg # of pages read per day: 57

# of novels read: 39

# of non-fiction books read (including memoirs): 15

# of memoirs read: 9

# of books in a series: 14

5 Least Favorite Books of the challenge:

5) The Unit- Nikki Holmqvist

4) Storm Front- Jim Butcher

3) The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown

2) The Lost City of Z- David Grann

1) The Gun Slinger- Stephen King

5 Favorite Books of the Challenge

Runner Up 1) Super Sad True Love Story- Gary Shteyngart

Runner Up 2) Imperfect Birds- Anne Lamott

5) Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven- Susan Jane Gilman

4) The Passage- Justin Cronin

3) The Lonely Polygamist- Brady Udall

2) Fury- Koren Zailckas

1) Under the Dome- Stephen King

Isn't it odd that Stephen King wrote both my favorite and my least favorite books?

#1: Notes on the 50 Book Challenge

365 Blog Challenge: Post #1

Late last year, my husband challenged me to read 50 books in 2010. He had ulterior motives for this challenge, but none-the-less, I have succeeded. I officially read 54 books in 2010, and here they are in order for your viewing pleasure:

1) Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)- Suzanne Collins, 391 pages

The Hunger Games series is amazing. If you haven't picked up this young adult series, you must cause God knows they're going to butcher the movie.

2) Open: An Autobiography- Andre Agassi, 385 pages

The tennis rebel tells his story (and some interesting details about Brooke Shields) and I had a hard time putting this one down.

3) Midwives- Chris Bohjalian, 372 pages

A great book in medical ethics though I suppose putting it that way, it sounds boring. Though it's actually a very intriguing story of a delivery gone wrong and it's aftermath.

4) The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3)- Dan Brown, 509 pages

Definitely the worst of the Robert Langdon books. More of the same. Snore.

5) Mirror Mirror- Gregory Maguire, 280 pages

After having read Wicked, I expected a little more from this book but I wasn't especially impressed. While Mr. Maguire does have quite the imagination, the story was a little lacking.

6) Shutter Island- Dennis Lahand, 369 pages

Skip the movie (and Leonardo DiCaprio's TERRIBLE Boston accent...."I'm a federal Maaashall.") and read the books. It's a good one.

7) Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven- Susan Jane Gilman, 304 pages

An incredible memoir of a new college graduate exploring China in the 80s, just as it had become open to tourists. Between a mentally ill travel partner and the language barrier, it's a disaster that will make you think twice about being ill-prepared for international travel.

8) Appointment in Samarra- John O'Hara, 272 pages

This was a suggestion from our friend Helen, a fellow book-lover who works at the German Book Office. It's one of her faves, and while I wasn't in love with it, it is a great social commentary of the early 20th century.

9) Under the Dome- Stephen King, 1072 pages

Holy moly where do I start? This is the first Stephen King book I've ever read and I was amazed at how tight the story was in this novel, how everything wove together so beautifully and kept me on the edge of my seat. It's worth the time it took to get through 1000+ pages. Loved it.

10) What I thought I knew: A Memoir- Alice Eve Cohen, 191 pages

A writer becomes pregnant at age 44 after being told for years she was unable to conceive a child. Imagine finding out you're with child when you're 6-months pregnant. Oops. Insightful.

11) Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out- Claudia L Osborn, 322 pages.

It's amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye. Dr. Osborn suffered a head injury while riding her bicycle and her whole world was turned upside down. An interesting read for anyone who has suffered a TBI or knows anyone who has. Don't take your brain for granted kids.

12) Columbine- Dave Cullen, 370 pages

I occasionally have a hard time reading non-fiction but this book was well-researched and thoughtful. It introduces you to the victims of the Columbine tragedy but also gives a human view of the shooters. Absolutely worth reading.

13) The Gunslinger: Revised and Expanded (The Dark Tower Series, #1)- Stephen King, 300 pages

Having so enjoyed Under the Dome, I thought maybe I'd be a Stephen King junkie. Nope. This book was far too abstract for me. I struggled through it and struggled to care about anything that happened in it. Blech.

14) Brendan Wolf- Brian Malloy, 288 pages

I may be partial to this author just because he was my fiction-writing TA in college and I loved him as a teacher. But I think the main reason I like him is because he's a damn good writer. This book is darker than his first novel, Year of Ice, but perhaps leaves you with more to think about.

15) The Yiddish Policemen's Union- Michael Chabon, 411 pages

Michael Chabon is one of my favorite authors and, even though my husband had a hard time getting into this one, this book to ME is just as impressive to me as Kavelier and Clay.

16) Memories of My Melancholy Whores- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 115 pages

A teeny tiny book about an old man and his sex life. Not as bad as it sounds.

17) Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia- Maya Hornbacher, 289 pages

I have always been fascinated with eating disorders and this memoir does not fail in the train wreck department (Tragic but you can't look away.)

18) My Own Country- Abraham Verghese, 429 pages

I picked this book up at a law school book store while doing jury duty because I needed something to pass the time. What a find! This is a great book about an infectious disease doctor (originally from India) during the start of the AIDS epidemic. A great account of a truly compassionate doctor who happens to have a new, critically acclaimed novel out, "Cutting for Stone" which I have yet to pick up.

19) The Rule of Four- Ian Caldwell, 372 pages

This book came out right around the time of The Da Vinci Code so didn't get as much hype as it probably should have. It's similar in that it's a mystery story with clues set in the historical legends (This one at Princeton University), however, this is much better written than anything Dan Brown has ever penned.

20) The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon- David Grann, 319 pages

I swear the title is the most exciting part of this book. The author didn't really do anything that made me care about the fate of Col. Percy Fawcett. And while this book is probably well researched, it was a snore.

21) The Corrections- Jonathan Franzen, 576 pages

The author everyone is talking about, though this is an earlier novel. It is a brutally honest looks at a dysfunctional family who is struggling to come to terms with the patriarch's Parkinson's disease and dementia. Funny, untraditional, snarky even. Can't wait to read his new one.

22) Milk and Honey (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #3), 416 pages

The Decker/Lazarus series is a unique one. Decker is an LA detective. Rina Lazarus is an orthodox Jewish woman raising 2 kids on her own. Yet, they fall in love and solve crimes in the meantime. Good light reads.

23) Breaking Dawn (Twilight #4)- Stephanie Meyer, 756 pages

Ok, this shows what a literary snob I am not. I love the Twilight series. No, it's not the great American novel. No, the writing isn't particularly impressive. Yes, Bella Swan seems like a big pain in the ass. Yet, I am hooked. And sometimes you need books that do the work for you so you don't have to think so much. Yes, this one required a little bit of forgiveness on the supernatural front, but still quite enjoyable.

24) The Year of the Flood- Margaret Atwood, 431 pages

Oh Margaret Atwood and your Utopian (dystopian?) society novels. Always interesting, though this one is less of a classic than A Handmaid's Tale. This one was just so-so.

25)Water for Elephants- Sara Gruen, 335 pages

Gotta love a story about a bucking young vet school drop out and his experience joining the Benzini Brothers Circus and falling in love with the show's main attraction (no, not the elephants, the circus boss' wife.)

26) Day of Atonement (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus, #4)- Faye Kellerman, 373 pages

More orthodox, LA detective crime solving fun.

27) Imperfect Birds- Anne Lamott, 272 pages

This was one of my favorite books of the year. A story of a small family including a daughter with an unrecognized drug problem. Told from both the mother and daughter's perspective.

28) Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman- Jon Krakauer, 344 pages

Has anyone ever read a Jon Krakauer book they didn't enjoy? I didn't think so. In this book, Krakauer writes engagingly about Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who quit the NFL to join the Army Rangers and was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. Sad, moving, inspiring.

29) WAR- Sebastian Junger, 304 pages

So I was on a war book kick and read this book written by journalist Sebastian Junger about the time he spent with a platoon in Afghanistan. It is worth a read because it's important to get first hand perspective of what is going on over there. But this wasn't nearly as good as Jon Krakauer's book. I do want to see the documentary that was made about this platoon that Junger contributed to, Restrepo.

30) Incarceron (Incarceron, #1)- Catherine Fisher, 442 pages

Another young adult series, this one about a dystopian society and a hidden prison in which Finn, the protagonist, has been forced to live with only fleeting memories of his early life outside. I think this will be a popular series, but it does have some similarities to the Hunger Games which I prefer.

31) The Namesake- Jhumpa Lahiri, 292 pages

My friends at work were raving about this novel, and while it is well written, I must say it is quite depressing. It was a good book, but not one of my favorites.

32) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)- Stieg Larsson, 644 pages

Yes, I jumped on that band wagon, and I'm glad I did! It is such a tragedy that Larsson passed away and was unable to finish the series (which I believe was supposed to be 10 books long). This one does take a good 100 pages to get into, but then you get 500+ pages to enjoy it. And it's worth it. Plus, Lisbeth Salander is officially one of my favorite literary characters ever.

33) Slaughterhouse Five- Kurt Vonnegut, 215 pages

Every once in a while, you have to pick up one of those classics so you can keep up with the literary buffs. This was a good one.

34) The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium, #2)- Stieg Larsson, 630 pages

I think I am in the minority, but I enjoyed the first Millennium novel more than this one, probably because I am over-protective of the characters I love (e.g. Lisbeth).

35) Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin- Hampton Sides, 480 pages

Perhaps I expect too much from non-fiction, for while this book was informative, it didn't live up to the hype it was getting from outside sources.

36) The Lonely Polygamist- Brady Udall, 602 pages

During this challenge, it was intimidating to pick up books with over 400 pages because of time constraints. However, this one was so worth it. Udall had me laughing in the first 3 pages. He (respectfully) points out the humor in this untraditional situation, yet can beautifully portray tragedy and human emotion as well.

37) Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside- Katrina Firlik, 264 pages

A good, quick read, especially for someone like me who's rather new in the medical profession. Not only is it interesting to read about Firlik's experience with trauma and neurosurgery. It's also nice to hear stories of a medical newbie and the challenges she faced (some of which I can relate to.)

38) Mennonite in a Little Black Dress- Rhoda Janzen, 271 pages

A great little memoir about going back to your roots in a time of personal crisis. Janzen is another funny author, though knows when to be serious, and she provides some insight on who the Mennonites actually are and how she became the woman she is.

39) Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1)- Jim Butcher, 322 pages

Another example of lack of literary snobbery on my part. This may be the first real "fantasy" book I've ever read. It was a little too out there for me, though for those who are more able to open their imaginations more than I, I can see why they enjoy it.

40) A Wedding in December- Anita Shreve, 325 pages

This is the first Anita Shreve book I've read (it was a gift from my dear Jamie Lyn), and I rather enjoyed it. A mini-high school reunion in the setting of a wedding of two former classmates, one of who has advanced breast cancer. Memories and hormones ensue.

41) The Help- Kathryn Stockett, 451 pages

I see why this book is so popular. A great story of numerous brave women, three in particular. Emma Stone is perfect to play Skeeter in the movie. (Skeeter is another great literary character I read about this year.)

42) Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)- Suzanne Collins, 390 pages

The long awaited third installment of this trilogy. I must say, I missed the arena, though I understand why it couldn't be a part of this one. And an ending I could live with and was, in fact, happy about.

43) The Surgeon- Tess Gerritsen, 350 pages

The strong, leading lady in this book (obviously I'm drawn to strong leading-ladies) is Jane Rizzoli, the sole female detective on a Boston homicide squad. I enjoyed this book because Gerritsen is an MD and adds much appreciated and accurate physiological details into her murder mysteries.

44) The Memory Keeper's Daughter- Kim Edwards, 408 pages

I enjoyed this book but stories like these tend to make me upset. So much heartbreak in this story could have been avoided by simple honesty.

45) The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake- Aimee Bender, 293 pages

I was excited to read this book the moment I heard about it. A girl who can feel people's emotions by eating the food they make? Sounds like a good one of me, Ms-Excessive-Empathy-USA. However, it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. A little disappointed.

46) Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America- Barbara Ehrenreich, 240 pages

As a realist, I appreciated the message in this book which ISN'T to do the opposite of thinking positively. The message seems to be that hoping for the best is ok, but be realistic and allow yourself to experience your true emotions instead of hiding them under a mountain of optimism.

47) The Apprentice (Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles, #2)- Tess Gerritsen, 384 pages.

Another Rizzoli story, this time introducing Maura Isles as medical examiner in a copy-cat case similar to that in The Surgeon. These books are the basis for the TNT show Rizzoli and Isles, and though they can be a bit gruesome, they are rather enjoyable.

48) The Passage (The Passage, #1) - Justin Cronin, 766 pages.

This book is EPIC. Sick of the vampire phase? I don't care. Read just ONE more vampire book and make it this one. This book is supposedly the first in a series about a world in the future where, due to a military science experiment gone bad, the world is full of "virals" out to get the few remaining non-infected humans. Amazing.

49) Super Sad True Love Story- Gary Shteyngart, 331 pages

A cynical, yet hilarious, story about what America (NY specifically) will be like in the future when the dollar fails and other countries swoop in to take over. Yet, it is a love story. A super sad, super funny, love story.

50) The Unit- Ninni Holmqvist, 268 pages

While the premise of this book is a good one, I wasn't particularly impressed with the translation. The "dispensible" population of presumably Sweden (those who aren't married, don't have children or jobs that sufficiently contribute to society" are forced to live in a residence which is luxurious and enjoyable except for the fact that they are regularly subjected to biological experiements until they make their "final donation". Yikes.

51) A Reliable Wife- Robert Goolrick, 291 pages

This book was great. A wealthy, rural Wisconsin man (with a past) posts an ad for a "reliable wife"...guess who answers it....

52) The Rapture of Canaan- Sheri Reynolds, 321 pages

Hmm, this is what happens when kids don't get sex ed. A story of a fundamentalist community and one independent thinker.

53) Fury: A Memoir- Koren Zailckas, 309 pages

This is Zailckas' follow up to "Smashed- The Story of a Drunken Girlhood". It's kinda hard to believe that this writer has 2 memoirs written before the age of 30, but she does, and they're both great, honest, insightful and worth reading!

54) Still Alice- Lisa Genova, 397 pages

A unique account of a female psychology professor who is diagnosed with early-onset alzheimer's disease, her family and her deterioration.

Alright, I make NO PROMISES about reading this many books in 2011. However, I will keep reading. So let me know if you have or need any suggestions!